


Trickster

by Mitzuna



Series: Failed Plans AU [4]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Canon Divergence, Human Bill Cipher, Stanford and Stanley are mentioned, Weirdmageddon never happened, also Mabel's mean to Bill, and mostly platonic at this stage, but the angst is totally minimal, failed plans AU, fake holidays, only slight Billdip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitzuna/pseuds/Mitzuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since Bill reentered the Pines household, it had been an unwritten rule to never leave something edible out in the open, if you didn’t want it to vanish. As the demon discovered different flavours, he tried to get his hands on anything he could stuff down his gullet, especially if it was ordered from a restaurant or cocked by anyone else than a male Pines. Really, if not for Greasy’s and microwavable food, they would have starved a long time ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trickster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PhenixFleur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhenixFleur/gifts).



> This was written for a prompt at tumblr. Prompt was from Luna_Moth who wanted failed plans AU and Dipper reaching out to a weakened Bill, who hasn’t been eating or drinking water. I feel like this is maybe moving a bit fast from where I left with the other stories, but on the other hand, damn it, it’s my AU I can do what I want. And I didn’t want it to be years later already, it just didn’t feel right. So yeah, seems like Billdip is a lot more possible here than I thought :) And it’s still more platonic than anything else, but those two are getting there. Someday.  
> I had a lot of fun and so many ideas, that I scrapped in the end, because it would have gotten too far from the main story line. (And really I’m unable to write drabbles. This thing is 4k+, I wanted it to be much shorter.)

He was still sleepy and yawned as he got out of bed. Normally Bill would just use some of his collected magic to feel refreshed and ready, but lately he had been trying to comb through the vast collection of books on rituals and spells in his mindscape library. He hadn’t gotten anywhere so far. Even after living with the Pines for nearly a year, he had no clue as to how they had bound him to this body. It was frustrating, and although it took a considerable amount of his stored energy to do this every night, he just wanted to get somewhere soon. There was not rush to finish and he certainly had a few years before Fez kicked the bucket, still he had hoped to at least have something after so many months. There was nothing, so for now he would have to cope with spending all summer long with the twins. 

That had been surprisingly easy so far. Shooting Star had mostly been ignoring him, rather spending time with her girlfriends in town and chatting up tourists left and right. Even if they had to interact, it was always short and she never tried to engage him. She certainly thought the less she had to do with him, the better. Pine Tree on the other hand had been a bit more relaxed. You couldn’t say they were suddenly best friends (or, well, friends in general) but the brown-haired teen sometimes talked to him if no one else was around. Mostly about strange stuff happening in the Falls and always asking if he knew something about it. But in comparison to Sixer who also still tried to get information from him and was often using threats or bribes (not that it got him anything in return, with Bill always refusing to speak to him), Pine Tree never pressured him and didn’t react negatively if he kept quiet. Which was most of the time, because more often than not, after long work days in the Shack, he didn’t feel like saying anything. It was a bit strange to him, being treated so… normal. Fez sometimes acted this way around him, but always seemed to remember in a few minutes just who he was and why he was staying in the Mystery Shack. Then he got all tense and awkward around him. Pine Tree was somehow different.  
He stretched and groaned, but decided to forego a magical refreshment. His supply on energy was running a bit low and he didn’t want to drain it. Better to always have a bit extra in store, so he would just have to deal with the sleepiness. Not like it would matter much, as it was Sunday and the Shack was closed. He might as well get some real sleep later on. For now his grumbling stomach reminded him that he had already slept in pretty late and that it was definetly time to get some food.

~~~

Since Bill reentered the Pines household, it had been an unwritten rule to never leave something edible out in the open, if you didn’t want it to vanish. As the demon discovered different flavours, he tried to get his hands on anything he could stuff down his gullet, especially if it was ordered from a restaurant or cocked by anyone else than a male Pines. Really, if not for Greasy’s and microwavable food, they would have starved a long time ago. Now that Shooting Star had returned, the residents of the Mystery Shack were often treated to some really special meals, as the girl had made it her new hobby to bake and cook for everyone and excelled in anything she tried.   
So when Bill discovered a tray with six green frosted cupcakes in the kitchen, he didn’t hesistate to grab one. He figured, if they had some purpose they would have been put into the fridge (as he didn’t like to look for food in there. It was just too much to choose from and he was never sure, what was already processed or still needed to be cooked) and also that Mabel would intervene, as she was sitting there at the table. But the girl only looked at him briefly before hiding her face behind a magazine. He thought he heard her giggle, but just shrugged it off and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. Which he regretted imidiately.  
Before he could really chew, his tongue caught on fire. Not literally, but it sure felt like it. His eyes began to water and his throat constricted painfully as he tried to swallow. He never had a reaction like this to anything before and for a moment he felt… scared. Had he swallowed poison? Immediately he sent some of his magic to combat whatever was doing that to him, but it was just too much of it in his mouth. Before he could really think about it, his body had moved to the sink and begun retching up the cupcake. It was terrible. He had never felt anything like that, even the damned berries hadn’t caused a reaction like this. Tears started streaming down his face. It seemed like an eternity, but slowly his body calmed down, although the taste and fire still lingered in his mouth. Over his own stuttering breath, he heard Shooting Star laugh out loud and as he turned to look at her, the demon saw her bent over, holding her stomach as peals of laughter escaped her.   
“Oh my! Hahaha, I-I didn’t think you’d..! The whole thing! Oh gosh, I’ve never seen someone turn red so fast! Hahaha! And, and the look on your face!”   
She fell into another fit of snickers, while Bill just stared at her in disbelieve, getting madder every second. She had tricked him, tried to kill him! The girl must have noticed his worsening mood, as she tried to explain.  
“Oh Bill, don’t look so grumpy! It was all just a joke, a prank! In the honor of Jule Fools Day, of course.”  
He wanted very much to curse her, to scream at her until she was cowering in a corner, with eyes wild and frightened. A joke, poisoning him was a joke? He hadn’t heard anything after that, too consumed by anger, the rush of blood in his ears overpowering everything else. He opened his mouth to put her in her place, but only a croak left his throat, nothing else getting out. It sent the girl into another round of snickers. With his pride shattered and something else, he didn’t even know existed in his chest, hurting somewhat fierce, he turned around and left the kitchen, unbeknownst leaving behind the shards of his broken trust in the girl.

~~~

Dipper’s wisest decision that day had been leaving early in the morning and only getting back home late in the evening. After he had awoken to marbles on the floor and a bucket full of water on the edge of the door to the bathroom, a quick look at the calender had confirmed everything. It was Jule Fools Day. Very much the same thing as April Fools Day, only celebrated on the first of July and also only celebrated in the Pines household. It had been Mabel’s idea (of course anything that annoying could only be his sister’s fault) as they never got to celebrate it with their Grunkles normally, behing home and everything at the time. So after hearing her idea, he had marked the day in his calender, with big red skulls to boot, so he wouldn’t forget.   
Alas when he got home and found Mabel offering him some suspiciously green cupcakes, he declined laughing.  
“Sorry Sis, I’m not that dumb. I guess they’re salty? Or sour? Either way, no thank you.”  
“Aw, but Dipdop, I spent all morning baking them! Don’t they look delicious?”  
“Nope, I’ll stick to bread and cheese this time. Do I even want to know what’s in there?”  
“Oh, nothing unusual. Only flour, eggs, sugar but maybe also ghost peppers, chilli and some other spices.”  
Dipper looked at the cupcakes in fear and awe. Mabel just beamed at him.  
“Wow, what’s the frosting made of? Got anyone with them?”  
“Wasabi, of course. And yeah, I got Soos, who like was already crying only after licking it. And Ford took his down to the lab, said he wanted to see if he could make some sort of weapon out of it. Stan and Wendy looked through me, hehehe. Didn’t eat any of it. Oh, oh, but! I got Bill!”  
“Bill? Really?”  
“You should have seen it! He just took the whole thing and ate it! Although not really, it went right back up into the sink. Ew, had to clean that, couldn’t find him anymore afterwards.”  
Dipper just shot another glance at the devilish cupcakes. They already sounded terrible, he couldn’t imagine how sticking one in your mouth would feel like.

~~~

Bill refused to eat again. He didn’t trust Shooting Star to not pull another stunt on him and as she was the only one providing anything food-related in the Mystery Shack at the moment, he was out of luck. He tried to ask for something different to eat, but Fez only got annoyed by his question and basicly told him to make his own food, if the girl’s meals weren’t good enough for him anymore. Being discouraged by that, he didn’t even try to ask anyone else and decided to just go without it. Rationing his power would be rough, especially as it was already diminished to begin with. But he’d done it once, he could do it again.  
His decision came with several consequences. For one he had to quit his library searches, as they would demand a power supply, he just couldn’t provide at the moment. Furthermore he had to cope with feeling rather weak and shaky again. He didn’t feel as energetic as normal, which meant his tourist tours through the Shack were rather lackluster. Normally he would include tidbits of his vast knowledge, stories real and made up depending on whether a Shack attraction was based on an existing creature or not. His “fairytales” were what pulled in a majority of tourists and even got him the previlege to run his own tours at all, but now there was always a rather uncomfortable aura around him, that led to some of the visitors complaining to Fez. Swiftly he was demoted to shop duty, mostly stacking the shelves and dusting, as the cash register was primarily Ice’s job. He could only hope that somehow he would get through the time the twins spent in Gravity Falls without passing out.

~~~

“Hey, sis?”  
“Hm, hm?”  
“Have you noticed Bill behaving different lately? Like not eating with us anymore and being really silent?”  
Dipper didn’t want to say it out loud, but he was worried. If you told him a year ago that someday he would start to worry about his ex-triangular-now-turned-human enemy, he would have laughed and asked them what mystical substance they had consumed. He couldn’t deny that he had been angry and hurt (physically as well as mentally) after the whole “Sock Opera Fiasco”, but after everything else that happened he wanted to change his perspective. He might be clueless in a lot of social situations, but he’d seen what happened (and was happening) between his Grunkles. His sister was always optimistic and Dipper knew that sometimes she just didn’t see the darker side of things, so he hoped she hadn’t noticed anything amiss.   
Even though it took him a while, the boy saw the tension between the brothers, and he sometimes wondered if things could ever be the same with these two like they were during their childhood. Like it was between Mabel and him. It also led him to the conclusion, that he couldn’t leave his sister behind, no matter what difficulties they had along the way. They were life companions, they shared the same origin, maybe even the same soul. So although it felt like the chance of a lifetime, he declined Ford’s offer and went back to Piedmont with his twin. But he still thought about it a lot, how holding grudges had destroyed the bond between the brothers, between twins that once were so tightly bonded. He also often tought about the demon, about Bill Cipher, always just sitting there, staring with newly human eyes and most of the time doing nothing, seemingly only a puppet. He couldn’t overlie this silent creature with the loudmouthed demon they had fought against last summer. Sometimes he wondered if things could have been different in another reality. So he swore to himself, that while he wouldn’t forget, wouldn’t let down his guard and wouldn’t trust him, the brown-haired teen could at least give the blond another chance.   
Somewhere along the way, during talks after busy days at the Mystery Shack and just sitting beside each other in silence, Dipper could say they had become acquaintances, maybe even… friends?  
No, it was too soon for that, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it happening sometime.  
“Na, haven’t really noticed. Although it has been a lot more quiet for a while. Maybe he’s just sulking? Don’t know, don’t really care, Dipdop.”  
Dipper’s thoughts were interupted by his sister’s words. That didn’t really help him. He already noticed how the girl mostly avoided and ignored the demon, choosing to cut out his presence. He couldn’t really hold it against her, he knew how she tried to take the blame for what nearly happened here about a year ago. The first few weeks she had bottled up all her emotions, until all it took was a simple argument, normally something they had from time to time, to break her barriers and let the tears overflow. It took most of the evening and the following night to sort things out and assure her, that her twin didn’t hate her, that he didn’t give up his opportunity with Ford only because of her, but mostly because he himself wanted to be by her side. Mystery twins forever, after all.  
So he hadn’t really expected her to notice anything different with Bill. But why would the demon sulk? He was worried about him not eating, even though Grunkle Ford had assured him, that the blond wouldn’t starve and that it was quite normal in the beginning (heck, he remembered bringing Bill food during his shifts and in the end eating it himself, as the other wouldn’t even touch anything). He just couldn’t shake the feeling, that something had upset him. And he wanted to find out what.  
“You sure you didn’t notice? Sometimes he skips meals, but it must have been a week at least.”  
“Ugh! Dipdop, I don’t know! I guess it has been some time, maybe since around Jule Fools, but really I wouldn’t worry. Let him be.”  
Annoyed by her brother’s insistance, the girl took her knitting needles and yarn and left the living room. Dipper looked after her toughtfully.  
Jule Fools, huh?

~~~

Bill felt sick. He hadn’t been this weak since he first got stuck in this body. He was nearly glad for his demotion to shop duty, as he was sure going around the Mystery Shack exhibition all day would have been his downfall already. He should be stacking he shelves, but who would really care if there was a gap between bobble heads and snow globes? Not like Ice could demand anything of him, after all she was also just sitting there, reading magazines and not doing her job. So the demon mostly leant against the wall, not yet sitting down but to be honest, it wouldn’t be long until even standing would be too much. Thankfully the Shack would close in under an hour and then he could just go to bed. He noticed Fez and Pine Tree entering the room, but didn’t really react in any way.  
“Hey, demon-brat!”  
He looked up bleary-eyed. What did Fez want now?“  
"I don’t pay you for just standing around! Get back to cleaning up the shelves!”  
“Grunkle Stan, you don’t pay him at all.”  
“Not the point.”  
With a heavy sigh he pushed off the wall and walked around the clothes-stand to get to the boxed trinkets. The old man just huffed and left again. Bill felt like he should be angry, but he was just hungry and exhausted. It wouldn’t do him any good to waste his energy on that.  
“Wow, the old man’s pretty grumpy today.”  
“Yeah, one of the kids destroyed an exhibit and the family left before he could demand any money for the damage.”  
As he placed some mugs on the shelf, he could feel eyes bore into his back. He guessed it to be Pine Tree, the boy had tried to talk to him a few times already in the last days, but Bill never wanted to answer his question, so he had started to avoid the kid.   
“Hey, Wendy, I could take over the register if you want. Doesn’t seem like anyone’s coming now. And we’re closing soon, too.”  
“Aww, really dude? Well, I won’t say no to that! See you next week!”  
The door closed behind Ice, leaving the room in silence. Bill noticed his hands shaking and hastily put the next mug down. Wouldn’t do him any good to shatter one of those and get a scolding on top of everything else.  
“Bill?”  
He jumped lightly and nearly tripped on his feet, if it hadn’t been for Pine Tree’s hand on his shoulder steadying him. But as soon as it touched him, the demon shrugged it off and turned around. Just looking at the boy and waiting for him to speak his turn.  
“I… I noticed you were really quiet the last few days and well… I just… Is everything okay?”  
Bill didn’t say anything and just turned his head away. He didn’t want to talk to the brown-haired boy about it, doubting he would react any different than Fez had.   
“It’s just, you haven’t been eating with us for a while and… Mabel’s making spaghetti today with home-made tomato sauce.”  
“I don’t want anything.”  
He had whispered it, not really wanting to speak up.  
“What? I didn’t hear you.”  
“I said I don’t want anything from her!”  
Dipper looked taken aback by his outburst. Good, maybe he would learn to mind his own business. With that he shoved Pine Tree beside and left the shop. Not like he could go far, but maybe a bit of fresh air would do him good. He sunk down on the wooden steps, head in his hands and curling his legs close to his body. He couldn’t wait until nightfall.

~~~

That’s how Dipper found him a few minutes later. Now that the shop was closed, he had hoped that Bill was a bit calmer and maybe more willing to talk to him. He sat down near the demon, who didn’t react other than curling up a bit more. He set down a plate with clumsily made sandwiches between them and leaned back on his hands, looking up to the evening sky. It was already changing from a clear blue to a shimmering golden tone. He shot a glance at the demon, who didn’t seem to be intent to talk to him. Well, obviously Dipper would have to start the conversation.  
“So, Mabel got you with those cupcakes, right? I guess that was pretty horrible.”  
“…”  
“Yeah, I guess she thought it would be funny. I swear it was a one time thing only. You know, for Jule Fools? Do you know what Jule or April Fools is?”  
More silence, Bill hadn’t moved at all. Dipper was beginning to doubt the demon was even listening, but for now he would just keep talking.  
“You know, April Fools day is this silly holiday where you’re supposed to trick and prank friends and family. I don’t really know where or when it started. And Mabel wanted to celebrate it later, cause we’re never here on April 1st. So yeah, bam, Jule Fools, cause July Fools doesn’t sound as good, apparently.”  
Still no reaction. Dipper was unsure how to go on from here. Normally Bill would at least make some little noises to show he was listening, but this silence was unsetteling. Just as the brown-haired teen began to nervously play with his shirt hem, the other started whispering.  
“She just stood there and laughed. I though she gave me poison. It burned and…”  
Bill turned his head, so that Dipper could see his eyes. They were glassy, not from unshed tears but from fatigue. The demon looked terrible and the boy felt his heart clench in his chest.   
“I promise you, it was only the cupcakes. Mabel hasn’t been putting anything hot in the food since then.”  
“Hot?”  
“Yeah, you know, like pepper or chilli. They’re spices used to season food, make it really burn in your throat.”  
Bill turned his head back and muttered quietly. Dipper could have sworn he heard something about dumb meatsacks, but didn’t feel like asking the demon to speak up. He looked at the plate between them and pushed it a bit more towards Bill.  
“I… I made some sandwiches. I put them together myself and I promise there’s nothing abnormal on there. Just cheese, ham and salad. I thought we could share them, because I felt like sitting here to eat tonight. It really nice out, right?”  
The blond slowly sat up a bit and looked at him first, before focusing on the plate. His hand moved as if to grab a piece before he hesitated and took it back, pressing it against his chest. Dipper just looked at him for a moment, then took a sandwich himself and leaned back, taking a big bite. He slowly and exaggeratingly chewed, then hummed, hoping to show the other that there was nothing wrong with the food. From the corner of his eye he could first see Bill watching him, waiting for a reaction from the brown-haired boy, before taking a piece himself and nibbling at a corner. When nothing happened, the demon started wolfing down the food, nearly choking a few times. Dipper should have thought of bringing some water, but right now he didn’t want to disrupt him, not sure if he would bolt if made aware how fast he was taking in the food. Between the two of them, they cleared the plate in mere minutes, with Bill getting the bigger portion. When the other noticed that there was nothing left, he just looked at Dipper, silently judging. The brown-haired teen cleared his throat.  
“If you want we can still get some of Mabel’s spaghetti. I assure you there’s nothing wrong with it and I’ll taste it for you first, if that makes you feel better.”  
Bill eyes stayed focused on his face. After what seemed like an eternity, the demon slowly got to his feet, wobbling a bit. But as Dipper moved to help him, the other just shook his head and took a step back.  
“Thanks, but… Maybe tomorrow, Pine Tree.”   
And with that the blond vanished in the house, most likely going to his room to rest. Dipper sighed. He had at least gotten the other to eat something, but what next?

~~~

When the next morning came, Dipper got out of bed, still tired and rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t really gotten a good night’s rest as he was still overthinking the situation with Bill. For now he would have to wait and see, as he couldn’t really predict what the demon would do now.   
As he got to the kitchen he was surprised to see Bill sitting at the table, not really doing anything but waiting there. Today the blond looked better already, more bored than exhausted. He quickly looked up when the boy entered the room, getting out of his chair and intercepting the other.  
“Pine Tree!”  
“Bill, what…?”  
The demon got out some bread, as well a cheese and ham from the fridge and set all of it down in front of Dipper on the counter. Then he stared at him expectantly.  
“Bill, I don’t know what you want right now?”  
“Show me how to make the things from yesterday.”  
“Huh?”  
Dipper looked at Bill in surprise and scratched his head. He wanted to know how to make sandwiches?  
“Yeah, so I can make my own food, if Shooting Star’s ever creating something horrible again!”  
The other was clearly excited about the prospect, looking back and forth between the boy and the ingredients. Dipper just chuckled and got some jam and peanut butter instead.   
“Well, that’s no problem, but maybe we can start with some breakfast food for breakfast and get to the other stuff this evening. That okay?”  
Bill only nodded before concentrating on what Dipper was doing. Well, that hadn’t really been what the brown-haired teen had been expecting, but if the demon was eating again, who was he to complain. He would share the sparse knowledge he had on making edible food.

~~~

This evening if you looked into the Pines’ kitchen you could see two boys next to each other, talking in low voices and cooking Mac and Cheese together. Sometime during preparation they were joined by the brown-haired’s twin and although the blond was reluctant to let her anywhere near him, the three of them made salad together and left the kitchen a real mess afterwards. When dinner time came around, everyone got together to eat, enjoying the meal. Even though the blond kid wasn’t really saying much to contribute to the conversation, Dipper felt glad to see him with them, taking big scoops of food and clearing his plate in minutes.   
This night the brown-haired boy slept better and with a little smile on his face, knowing that his acquaintance (or maybe even his friend?) was getting better again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and I would be more than happy to get some thoughts or constructive critisism on this. Also I have a tumblr (http://mitzuna.tumblr.com) if you want to shoot me some questions or want to talk to me. I'm also like constantly taking prompts if someone wants to give me one^^ Info's also found on my tumblr.


End file.
